Receptionists, appointment systems and continuity of care

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Primary Care Management

Background:

• Continuity of care is crucial for effective patient management in group practices.
• Receptionists play a role in patient access and scheduling, potentially impacting care continuity.
• Understanding receptionist influence is key to optimizing primary care delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the influence of receptionists on patient continuity of care within group practices.
• To compare appointment booking systems and their effect on continuity.
• To assess receptionists' personal priorities regarding continuity of care.

Main Methods:

• Observation of 22 receptionists scheduling 543 appointments across four group practices.
• Interviews with receptionists regarding their priorities for continuity of care.
• Analysis of appointment data, distinguishing between personal list systems and general systems.

Main Results:

• Practices with personal list systems experienced higher demand for specific doctors and times, leading to scheduling difficulties.
• While most receptionists valued patient-doctor continuity, their actual influence was limited compared to practice policies.
• Significant variations in patient demand for individual doctors were observed in practices without personal lists.

Conclusions:

• Receptionist influence on continuity of care is often secondary to established practice policies and doctor preferences.
• Personal list systems may increase patient demand complexity, potentially hindering continuity.
• Further research could explore strategies to enhance receptionist impact on care continuity.